Security on Easy Mode

Recently in the security space, there’s been a spate of contradicting priorities. For instance, a recent study showed that programmers will take the easy way out and not implement proper password security. Antidotally, a security pro in a networking and security course noticed another attendee who covered his webcam, but noticeably had his bitlocker recovery code is printed on a label attached to his screen. When protocols and skills compete for our attention, ironically, security gets placed on easy mode. In the real word, when attackers can potentially create malware that would automatically add “realistic, malignant-seeming growths to CT or MRI scans before radiologists and doctors examine them.” How about that time when ethical hackers were able to access a university’s student and staff personal data, finance systems and research networks? Perhaps more education and awareness might be needed to take security out of easy mode and bring it in real-time alerting mode.